Go fly your flag, says Moyes

David Moyes accepts Manchester United fans are entitled to fly a plane over Old Trafford calling for his sacking.

But the manager believes that he still has the backing of the majority of supporters and claims this season's disappointments make him more determined to succeed.

Defending champions United are languishing in seventh place in the Premier League table, 18 points behind leaders Chelsea, and suffered a damaging 10th defeat of the league season against Manchester City on Tuesday.

The struggles of Moyes's team prompted some supporters on message boards to club together and raise the £840 required to hire a plane, which is expected fly a banner reading "Wrong One: Moyes Out" over Old Trafford in the opening minutes of Saturday's game against Aston Villa.

"I heard about that," Moyes said. "People are entitled to do that."

The stunt has been discussed after security guards were forced to protect a huge banner at the front of one of the stands at Old Trafford on Tuesday. It reads: The Chosen One and refers to Moyes becoming the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Fans inside the ground have been largely supportive of, or at least refused to turn on, Moyesand The Chosen One banner is set to remain in place at the Stretford End.

Despite some fans calling for it to be removed, Moyes claims most supporters are still behind him. He said: "Everywhere I go I get great support."

"You work hard to get here in the first place but I've got to say I'm more driven to succeed than ever because I want the team to turn around and I want to change the position we're in just now.

"I really believe we can do that. We've got a great club, which gives you the chance to do that because of the people we can attract and the players we can attract to the club.

"But it's just going to take a little bit of time to get it sorted. Anyone who has an understanding of the game knows there's a rebuilding plan here. The people in charge here are top people."

Moyes insisted that his squad are sharing any pain felt by fans in a difficult year. "The players know exactly what it is to play for Manchester United and the standards they have to set," he said.

"But they're hurting as well as me and are desperate to put it right. And hopefully when we get to the game against Villa, they can show that."